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Category Archives: Technology

It is possible to get beautiful ‘on the go’ with innovative TSA-Approved beauty vending machines that can be found in airports around the world.

I recently encountered the Benefit beauty vending machine on a recent trip to New York City and was thoroughly impressed with the selection and the ease of convenience.

The Benefit Glam Up and Away Kiosk offers travel size TSA-friendly products so any lipstick, foundation or Mascara purchased can easily go onto the plane and passes all TSA size requirements.

As I like to feature the latest developments in the world of beauty, technology and commerce, such as the Kate Spade Interactive Store in NYC, the Benefit beauty kiosk is a truly innovative way to combine a fun, functional and interactive shopping experience while also maintaining a retro-like boutique experience.

While still a vending machine, this kiosk offers instructional beauty tips and tricks on a computer screen to create a comprehensive and informative shopping trip that is positive and helpful.

The regular price for this program will be $325.00, but for our trial-run, we’re offering an exclusive price for only $80.00.

This unique package offers a vital bundle of brand-boosting benefits created for your unique needs, such as a customized Social Media Analysis to help you understand the current state of your online communication efforts, pre-written posts, writing tips, a social media calendar, access to our tips and tricks newsletter, educational publicity webinars and more.

The Social Media Star program promises to benefit every business, no matter what stage of development you may be at and we love the challenge to help each individual need. If you are interested please drop me a line at hneisworth@gmail.com to sign up or inquire further information.

Sephora has launched a new online beauty shopping platform called ‘Beauty Board‘ which captures a Pinterest experience combined with Instagram-like pictures to create a new social shopping experience.

On the site users can share their own beauty looks with a photo, offer personal tips and tricks and can tag specific products used to create the look. Each noted beauty product can be viewed and purchased online at Sephora.com, Sephora’s mobile site and via its iPhone, and Android apps. Pictures can also be shared on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+.

Users can filter content areas based upon interest such as: Photos by Sephora (featuring looks by the staff at different Sephora stores), Makeup, Eyes, Lips, Nails, Skincare, Fragrance, Hairstyles and Hauls (which sounds funny but shows the purchases people make at Sephora). Special beauty influencers on the site providing content include Popsugar.com, Beautyblitz.com, Temptalia.com, Beautyhigh.com and Burdie.com. Users can also see what is popular among users in real-time and can check out the newest looks.

Social shopping is a big buzzword these days — and a bit of a holy grail — as online retailers try to get consumers to move beyond catalog-style “shop and click” experiences to something more interactive and communal.

The Beauty Board is a direct response to the Social Shopping trend, a form of e-commerce where friends get involved online in the shopping experience that mimics the offline activity and real world experience of friends gathering together to shop in person at a store or mall. It also captures Instagram and Pinterest experiences where users are already posting their own beauty looks, inspirations and tips.

My favorite feature of the site is the ability to “Love” a photo. Loving a photo means to save it for later and to look at it again for inspiration.

The Beauty Board is free for all users and is a product of the French company Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)which acquired Sephora in 1997.

Are you always on the forefront of style, fashion and technology? If so your lucky day will arrive on Tuesday, April 15 when Google will make sales of Google Glass available to everyone in the United States for $1,500.00.

This special sale is the first time the tech device is available to the general public; previously only Google “Explorers” or “early adopters” or developers could make a purchase.

The sale starts at 9 a.m. ET on April 15 and any individual making a first time purchase will receive a free frames or sunglasses but supply is limited.

Controversy has also surrounded Google Glass as it carries an Orwellian small camera that can record 720p video or snap still photos with no indicator light showing when the camera is on; therefore pictures or short films can be taken almost secretly and so Google Glass has been banned from many bars and restaurants. It has also taken the fashion world by storm walking the runway at Diane Von Furstenberg with Sergey Brin at New York Fashion Week.

Marc Jacobs opened a Daisy fragrance Pop – Up shop in Soho during Fashion Week with a social media twist. This unique shop did not accept money and only accepted social currency in the form of Tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram photos.

The innovative shop was brought in part by the large amount of Social Media love given to Marc Jacobs fragrance Daisy, which has one of the highest engagement levels on Facebook. Fans of the fragrance often go to great lengths to publish innovative photos, personal drawings and accolades on Social Media and so this shopping experience was a good way to ‘thank’ fans and launch a new Daisy print campaign. Pop – Up shoppers used the Hashtag #MJDaisyChain as payment for Marc Jacobs-branded gifts ranging from perfume, necklaces and purses.

This marketing experiment was also a reflection of fashion houses like Dior and Kate Spade entry into the Social Media market and finding new and innovative ways to sell their luxury products to a target audience.

The use of Social Media currency shows the ongoing struggle for companies to accurately measure the actual ‘value’ of a Social Media campaign or more specifically the cost of a Tweet, Facebook Like or Instagram photo.

So while companies continue to engage in Social Media campaigns to uncover the actual value of engagement, fans get to benefit from the innovative ways companies are engaging audiences.